- California will issue tickets to autonomous vehicles starting July 1 for traffic violations
- Law enforcement can send Notices of AV Noncompliance to manufacturers for moving violations
- AV companies must respond to first responder calls within 30 seconds and update interaction plans
Starting July 1, autonomous vehicles (AVs) in the US state of California will be punished and issued tickets, akin to vehicles with humans behind the wheel. A slew of new regulations announced by the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) on Tuesday (Apr 28) included a process for law enforcement to issue a "notice of AV noncompliance" to manufacturers when an AV commits a violation like running a red light or failing to stop for school buses.
"AV moving violations establishes a process for law enforcement to issue a Notice of AV Noncompliance to manufacturers when an AV commits a moving violation, enhancing visibility and accountability for AV traffic law compliance," the DMV said in a press release.
Apart from being made liable for the actions of its vehicles, the AV companies will be required to respond to first responder calls within 30 seconds and authorise local emergency officials to issue electronic geofencing directives to clear AVs from active emergency zones.
"First responder interaction requires annual updates to first responder interaction plans, access to manual vehicle override systems, two-way communication links with 30-second response times and updated training requirements to ensure safe and timely interactions with first responders."
The new regulations have been introduced to address the gap in how violations have been handled for autonomous vehicles. In recent years, there have been numerous cases where self-driving cars, especially the robotaxis, have been involved in traffic violations and safety investigations.
Earlier this year, a Waymo passenger narrowly escaped an accident after the self-driving car stopped on the railroad tracks in the path of an oncoming train. Similarly, a widespread power outage in San Francisco led to Waymo cars getting stuck at intersections with their hazard lights turned on, as traffic lights stopped working. A fire at a PG&E substation knocked out power to roughly one-third of the city on December 20, leading to a malfunction in the Waymo taxis.
